HEARING TESTS - WatsonsHealth

HEARING TESTS

Overview & Facts

A hearing test may be requested by your doctor or your office every now and then. Hearing tests are the ways by which doctors use to ensure that your ears function well.

With age, hearing loss turns out to be more probable. Around 14% of individuals ages 45 to 64 have some level of hearing defect, yet it increases to over 30% among individuals who are 65 years old or more. This is the reason why your doctor will need to test your listening ability at regular intervals.

Specialists suggest that adults get their hearing tested tried at regular intervals until age 50, and afterward at 3 years interval.

Types & Symptoms

A hearing test is done to diagnose hearing loss.

There are four types of hearing loss:

  • Auditory Processing
  • Conductive Hearing Loss
  • Sensorineural Hearing Loss
  • Mixed Hearing Loss

Auditory Processing Disorders

This disorder happens when the brain has trouble in processing sound signals.

Conductive Hearing Loss

Conductive hearing loss happens when there is an issue with the outer or middle ear which can interfere with the sound that passes to the inner ear. It can be caused by excessive amount of earwax, ear infections, a punctured eardrum, fluid, or abnormal bone development in the middle ear like otosclerosis.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Sensorineural Hearing Loss happens when there is injury to the cochlea and the auditory nerve so that they have difficulty in sending signals to the brain.

Mixed Hearing Loss

A mixed hearing is a mixture of the other types.

Signs and symptoms of hearing loss may include:

  • Speech muffling and other sounds
  • Trouble in understand words against background noise and crowds
  • Problems in hearing consonants
  • Telling people to speak loudly
  • Turning up the volume of television or radio
  • Social withdrawal

Diagnosis & Medications

A hearing test is performed in a sound-proof room. You will wear earphones or earplugs associated with a gadget that sends sounds of various volumes and pitches to one ear at any given moment. You will be requested to react by raising your hand or pressing a button each time you hear a sound.

 

After a hearing test, when there is hearing loss, treatments may be given. These treatments include earwax removal, surgeries, hearing aids and cochlear implants.

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